Infinitely Losing My Edge
Yeah, I'm losing my edge.
I'm losing my edge.
The kids are coming up from behind.
I'm losing my edge.
I'm losing my edge to the kids from Cyprus and from Mumbai.
But I was there.
I was there in 1984.
I was there at the first Arcadia show in London.
I'm losing my edge.
I'm losing my edge to the kids whose footsteps I hear when they get on the decks.
I'm losing my edge to the internet seekers who can tell me every member of every good group from 1963 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Seoul and Salvador.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Mumbai kids in little jackets and borrowed nostalgia for the unremembered nineties.
I'm losing my edge.
I'm losing my edge.
I can hear the footsteps every night on the decks.
But I was there.
I was there in 1971 at the first Selda practice in a loft in Istanbul.
I was working on the clarinet sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer started up his first band.
I told him, "Don't do it that way. You'll never make a dime."
I was there.
I was the first guy playing Zero Boys to the grime kids.
I played it at Trash.
Everybody thought I was crazy.
We all know.
I was there.
I was there.
I've never been wrong.
But I'm losing my edge to better-looking people with better ideas and more talent.
And they're actually really, really nice.
I'm losing my edge.
I heard you have a compilation of every good song ever done by anybody.
Every great song by Beasts of Bourbon. All the underground hits.
All Bill Wells tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a guitar and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Bang on a Can All-Stars record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a sitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a harpsichord.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Flesh Eaters,
Deadbeat,
Electric Prunes,
Nas,
Notorious Big And Bone Thugs,
Lee Hazlewood,
Ten City,
Babytalk,
Terror Squad Feat. Camron,
The J.B.'s,
Moby Grape,
Agent Orange,
Unwound,
In Retrospect,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
The Human League,
Ultimate Spinach,
Gang Starr,
Gabor Szabo,
FM Einheit,
Hashim,
The Litter,
Toni Rubio,
Crispian St. Peters,
The Cowsills,
Notorious BIG live in Amsterdam,
The Royal Family And The Poor,
Bang On A Can,
Harmonia,
Black Flag,
Fort Wilson Riot,
Pantaleimon,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
The Grass Roots,
Angry Samoans,
Tommy Roe,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
Swans,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Marc Almond,
Kayak,
Q65,
Johnny Clarke,
Eli Mardock,
Blossom Toes,
Cluster,
Jerry's Kids,
Essential Logic,
Ponytail,
Judy Mowatt,
Barclay James Harvest,
Goldenarms,
PIL,
Al Stewart,
The Saints,
Lalann,
Buzzcocks,
Mantronix,
Khruangbin, Khruangbin, Khruangbin, Khruangbin.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.